RUŌOD Lab

Level 11 · Commercial Fragrance Development

Mods and Sample Tracking: Study Guide

Read our guide to mods and samples, then set up a coding scheme for one project and check that any sample you send can be traced back to its exact formula.

Professional 15 min study By the RUŌOD Lab team Updated

In short

A mod is a modified version of a fragrance in development, and tracking one means being able to say exactly which formula any sample holds, who has it, and what they said about it. The guide covers the system. This exercise sets one up, because projects usually go wrong in the third week, not the first.

What you will learn

  • Design a code that links a sample to its formula
  • Keep client feedback attached to the right version

Before this lesson: Stability as a Commercial Gate

What to look for as you read

  • How internal codes differ from what a client sees.
  • Where feedback should be stored so that it stays attached to its version.
  • What to retain, and for how long.

Practical exercise: Track one project's mods

About 40 minutes · You will have: a coding scheme and a mod log with samples, recipients and feedback

  1. Write a coding scheme with project, round and mod, plus a separate neutral code for samples sent out.
  2. Build a log with these columns: internal code, formula version, batch date, sample code, recipient, date sent, feedback and decision.
  3. Fill it in for an actual sequence of three versions of one of your formulas, and make a retained sample of each.
  4. Run a test. Pick a sample code at random, then find its exact formula and feedback. Time yourself.

You have done this well if you can go from a code to a formula in under a minute, and feedback is recorded in the person's own words.

Knowledge check

1. What should a sample's code reveal to a client?
Show the answer

Nothing about the formula or your preferred version. A neutral code keeps them from being led, and it protects your work.

2. A client says, 'I prefer the one from March.' What do you need?
Show the answer

A log linking codes, dates, versions and recipients. Without the log, you can't find out exactly which one they mean.

3. Should you keep a retained sample of each mod you send?
Show the answer

Yes, labeled, because you will want to compare later. You cannot compare with feedback against something you no longer have.

Further reading and materials

Written and reviewed by the RUŌOD Lab team. This is general education, not legal, regulatory, medical or safety advice. Example dilutions and exercises are for learning, are not validated products, and have not been safety-assessed. Completing a lesson confers no qualification. How we check these lessons.